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South African-born photographer John Thackwray probably doesn't spend much time in his bedroom. Why? Because he's too busy photographing the bedrooms of others!
He's spent over 6 years photographing over one thousand people's bedrooms from 55 countries for his photo-series titled My Room Project. It started out as a bit of fun with friends in Paris but since then his project has taken him everywhere from Mexico and Russia to Nepal and Japan. Thackwray only photographs the bedrooms of people born in the 80s and 90s in order to capture and compare the different hopes and aspirations of one particular generation. He also interviews them about various topics including lifestyle, local issues, education, religion, and love, and he's combined a selection of his photographs and interviews for a book that's available for pre-order on his website.
More info: John Thackwray (h/t: brightside)
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Manyatta, Kenya, Ezekiel, 22--Year-Old Warrior
Alexandra Lee 9 years ago
Joy can be found everywhere, even in such difficult circumstances. I wonder why we, who are so much more well-off, can't find a way to smile like this man sometimes.
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#2
La Paz, Bolivia, Marcello, 18-Year-Old High School Student
#3
Tehran, Iran, Elahe, 29-Year-Old Painter
#4
Kathmandu, Nepal, Pema, 22-Year-Old Buddhism Student
#5
Zhambyl, Kazakhstan, Zhalay, 18-Year-Old High School Student
Lála Ibildayeva 9 years ago
And this is nowhere close to reality of an 18-year old kid. The yurts are only used in summer. Take it from a girl who was born In Zhambyl currently known as Taraz, Kazakhstan
#6
Paris, France, Joseph, 30-Year-Old Artist
#7
Kingston, Jamaica, Camille
#8
Istanbul, Turkey, Gulle
#9
Bucharest, Romania, Andreea, 24-Year-Old Civil Engineer
Shauday Smith 9 years ago
that fan looks like it would tickle you in your sleep with those streamers
#10
Tokyo, Japan, Ryoko, 25-Year-Old Information Technology Engineer
#11
Berlin, Germany, Maja, 22-Year-Old Architecture Student
#12
Beirut, Lebanon, Sabrina, 27-Year-Old Kindergarten Teacher
#13
Saint Catherine, Egypt, Mohamed, 18-Year-Old Student Of Traditional Medicine
#14
Dali, China, Yuan, 22-Year-Old Salesperson
Alexandra Lee 9 years ago
I live in China...the separation between rich and poor classes is enormous!
#15
Teheran, Iran, Razieh
#16
Paris, France, Derek, 30-Year-Old Movie Director
Peitto Burrito 9 years ago
Things I've learned today: 1) Bedrooms in Paris don't have doors 2) French artists live in colorful and creative chaos
Neha Jawale-Bhorge 9 years ago
does anyone see a mannequin head there in that pile on the left..
Fab Yen 9 years ago
Why did they choose to show the messiest Parisian hoarders in the tiniest apartments??? Please don't believe every single young Parisian lives like they do.
Marie La Souris 9 years ago
a lot of students do though ! there's thousands of little rooms for students and more under the roofs of most of the buildings, for people to live in that aren't expensive sure these pictures don't illustrate the life of a family in paris, but this is actually quite realistic most students in paris live in tiny.. tiny spaces it's too expensive !
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Amber Taylor 9 years ago
That is full on hoarder status. There is a mannequin head, a creepy teddy bear, a child's piggy bank....I just...I have anxiety just looking at this :(
Marcelo Andrade 9 years ago
I bet 90% of that garbage hasn't been used for ages and could be donated to schools or people that would actually use it instead of keeping just to be cool...
#17
Lesotho, Osia, 18-Year-Old Shepherd
Milos Gajic 9 years ago
Last time I checked Lesotho was very different that South Africa. It is a separate country.
#18
Novosibirsk, Russia, Oleg, 24-Year-Old Telecom Engineer
#19
Sibundoy, Colombia, Marixa, 21-Year-Old Teacher
#20
Cairo, Egypt, Azza, 19-Year-Old Homemaker
#21
Thies, Senegal, Fatou, 17-Year-Old Seamstress
#22
Varanasi, India, Lalu,
Catalina Ioan 9 years ago
Some of these look so... Disney-like! And then others decidedly less so, sadly.
#24
Madyah Pradesh, India, Asha, 17-Year-Old Homemaker
#25
Nairobi, Kenya, Alice, 29-Year-Old Mother
#26
Durban, South Africa, Khetiwe, 22-Year-Old Unemployed
#27
Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe, Ronia
#28
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Saleh, 30-Year-Old Human Resources Officer
#29
New York, USA, Maleeq, 28-Year-Old Entertainer
#30
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Claudio, 24-Year-Old Archivist
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Hans 9 years ago
The series is a bit odd. I wonder what the people were told...some rooms look like they supposedely look everyday, others look like they were told to showcase particular hobbies, others like the idea was to depict stereotypes. Ben from Dallas is the perfect example for this. Thus, the series exhibits some interesting views, but getting an idea how people typically sleep around the world is not possible.
Hans 9 years ago
A nice thing, though, is that most of these people look rather happy...even if the rooms look what would be considered "poor" from a Western point of view.
Load More Replies...
Evisa Isabella Rose 9 years ago
Despite the fact that some rooms seem to ''be prepared'' for the photoshoot, I like the concept. It's eye-opening, interesting and definetely ''feeds'' your curiosity.
Lazy_Potato 9 years ago
This is a very interesting, and informative article, but I feel it is rather "biased". Although the different rooms show culture and the lifestyles of people around the world, most of them are based of personaloty, gender, or career. Especially eith the one that is all pink. But, this is entirely my opinion.
Jennifer Meacham 9 years ago
Staged or not it still is interesting to see what others have or don't have in their bedrooms.
Shauday Smith 9 years ago
couldn't stand the severe fish eye lense. No real scope of space. But a nice snippet into the lives of some strangers.
Beth Taccia 9 years ago
Would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't been sterotypicalized. It's blatantly staged. Very sad it would have been such an interesting series.
Esteban Mundo 8 years ago
I don't see anything wrong with Colombia and Brazil as American too.. Remember separate by country not by continent.
Load More Replies...
Nona Shenouda 8 years ago
This is not accurate at all I'm from Egypt and that is not how rooms in Egypt look the room that they showed is for someone who is poor
Debangana Banerjee 8 years ago
And as always, India is poor. Whoever you are, please take a more holistic look at things.
Kalikima 8 years ago
They seem to have asked for the people to pull out all their stuff... Some barely had enough to cover the pillow, many didn't have pillows, some had so much that it was overwhelming... but the thing that bugged me was the way he captured the rooms from above and rounded everything off, to make every room claustrophobic-ly small and almost cartoonish. Very weird...
Scarlett Johnson 8 years ago
I don't understand how any of these are comparable. If it's trying to convey different cultures throughout the 'millennial' generation (what even is that??) then they should choose a closer age bracket. You can't compare a 17 year olds style to a 30 year olds style in the same country, let alone across different ones.
Alusair Alustriel 9 years ago
Not a single room I would feel comfortable in. But they surely are interesting. Most of them. Some. :x
Hans 9 years ago
The series is a bit odd. I wonder what the people were told...some rooms look like they supposedely look everyday, others look like they were told to showcase particular hobbies, others like the idea was to depict stereotypes. Ben from Dallas is the perfect example for this. Thus, the series exhibits some interesting views, but getting an idea how people typically sleep around the world is not possible.
Hans 9 years ago
A nice thing, though, is that most of these people look rather happy...even if the rooms look what would be considered "poor" from a Western point of view.
Load More Replies... Evisa Isabella Rose 9 years ago
Despite the fact that some rooms seem to ''be prepared'' for the photoshoot, I like the concept. It's eye-opening, interesting and definetely ''feeds'' your curiosity.
Lazy_Potato 9 years ago
This is a very interesting, and informative article, but I feel it is rather "biased". Although the different rooms show culture and the lifestyles of people around the world, most of them are based of personaloty, gender, or career. Especially eith the one that is all pink. But, this is entirely my opinion.
Jennifer Meacham 9 years ago
Staged or not it still is interesting to see what others have or don't have in their bedrooms.
Shauday Smith 9 years ago
couldn't stand the severe fish eye lense. No real scope of space. But a nice snippet into the lives of some strangers.
Beth Taccia 9 years ago
Would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't been sterotypicalized. It's blatantly staged. Very sad it would have been such an interesting series.
Esteban Mundo 8 years ago
I don't see anything wrong with Colombia and Brazil as American too.. Remember separate by country not by continent.
Load More Replies... Nona Shenouda 8 years ago
This is not accurate at all I'm from Egypt and that is not how rooms in Egypt look the room that they showed is for someone who is poor
Debangana Banerjee 8 years ago
And as always, India is poor. Whoever you are, please take a more holistic look at things.
Kalikima 8 years ago
They seem to have asked for the people to pull out all their stuff... Some barely had enough to cover the pillow, many didn't have pillows, some had so much that it was overwhelming... but the thing that bugged me was the way he captured the rooms from above and rounded everything off, to make every room claustrophobic-ly small and almost cartoonish. Very weird...
Scarlett Johnson 8 years ago
I don't understand how any of these are comparable. If it's trying to convey different cultures throughout the 'millennial' generation (what even is that??) then they should choose a closer age bracket. You can't compare a 17 year olds style to a 30 year olds style in the same country, let alone across different ones.
Alusair Alustriel 9 years ago
Not a single room I would feel comfortable in. But they surely are interesting. Most of them. Some. :x
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